SK Specialty, '5 Billion Investment' Regional Economy Revitalization Project Receives Gyeongbuk and Yeongju City Commendations

10 Social Ventures Nurtured by 'STAXX Project' in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk See 26% Sales Growth in One Year

SK Materials subsidiary SK Specialty announced on the 1st that it received a commendation from Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Yeongju City in recognition of its contribution to revitalizing the local economy through the 'STAXX Project.'

The 'STAXX Project' is a local economic revitalization program launched in December 2021 by Yeongju City, where SK Specialty's business site is located, along with Gyeongsangbuk-do, Yeongju City, and Impact Square (a social venture incubation company), to address economic and social issues amid the risk of local extinction. The project aims to discover and nurture 10 social ventures utilizing local infrastructure such as Yeongju agricultural products and tourism resources to revitalize the regional economy.

On the 30th of last month, SK Specialty held the 'STAXX Panorama,' a performance sharing event for the 'STAXX Project,' at the Seonbi Sesang Han Music Hall in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk. At the event, SK Specialty and Impact Square received commendations from Gyeongsangbuk-do and Yeongju City. Gyeongbuk Province awarded the Scale-up Excellence Award to the social venture Korea Fisheries Technology Institute (KOF), and Yeongju City presented the Scale-deep Excellence Award to Pinogen. About 100 people attended, including Park Nam-seo, Mayor of Yeongju, Jeong Seong-hyun, Director of the Local Era Policy Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, Lee Gyu-won, President of SK Specialty, and social venture representatives.

On the 30th, at Seonbi Sesang in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk, Lee Gyuwon, President of SK Specialty, received a plaque of appreciation from Jeong Seonghyun, Director of Local Era Policy Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, for contributing to the revitalization of the local economy through the STAXX project, and they are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by SK Specialty]

At this event, SK Specialty analyzed the economic and social value created by the project over the past three years and explored future directions for the project's development.

SK Specialty stated, "The combined annual sales of the 10 social ventures increased by 26.4%, from 2.27 billion KRW in 2022 to 2.87 billion KRW in 2023." They added, "Last year, in addition to the 2.8 billion KRW investment supported by the 'Gyeongbuk Youth Dream Impact Fund' established by SK Specialty and Gyeongsangbuk-do, the social ventures attracted follow-up investments of 2.18 billion KRW on their own." Furthermore, over the past three years, the social ventures contributed 280 million KRW to increasing local residents' income through purchasing local agricultural products and employing residents, and created a related population of about 2,200 people, including tourists. Additionally, about 30 young people relocated to Yeongju, injecting vitality into the local economy.

SK Specialty donated 5 billion KRW for this project. Together with Impact Square, they focused on discovering and nurturing social ventures, providing education and networking for founders, and establishing key exchange spaces. Moreover, SK held monthly consultative meetings with Yeongju City to listen to social ventures' difficulties and supported their growth by utilizing each party's capabilities and resources.

Building on this support, social ventures tackled issues faced by Yeongju City. Representative cases include: 'Liquor Square,' which developed regionally specialized alcoholic beverages to revitalize traditional markets at risk of extinction; 'Blank,' which remodeled vacant houses into lodging spaces; 'Backpackers Planet,' which introduced camping programs utilizing idle campsites in Sobaeksan; and 'Vinest' and 'Decant,' which developed health functional beverages and cosmetics using local agricultural products.

On the 30th of last month, attendees including Lee Gyu-won, President of SK Specialty (fifth from the right in the back row), and Park Nam-seo, Mayor of Yeongju City (sixth from the right in the back row), along with social venture representatives, are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by SK Specialty]

As these achievements became publicly known, SK Group affiliates and several local governments visited Yeongju for benchmarking. In Seoul's youth startup program 'Next Local,' Yeongju was ranked second as a preferred city for youth startups. Additionally, Yeongju was selected as the implementation city for the tourism demonstration project 'BETTER里' promoted by the Korea Tourism Organization, attracting young entrepreneurs to the city.

Lee Gyu-won, President of SK Specialty, said, "As a result of cooperation based on mutual trust between companies and local governments, meaningful changes are sprouting in Yeongju." He added, "We will do our best to make STAXX a leading domestic regional revitalization program that solves local pain points and seeks a path of coexistence." SK Specialty is a company that manufactures and sells specialty gases (NF3, WF6, SiH4, etc.) used in semiconductor and display panel manufacturing.